grease in a rotary cutter gear box?

[mikehaugen]

I'll admit, I have never seen 00 grease. If it is that thin, are you getting the advantage of it not leaking through the worn/damaged seals?

 

[Soundguy]

I'll admit, I have never seen 00 grease. If it is that thin, are you getting the advantage of it not leaking through the worn/damaged seals?

yes.

0 and 00 grease are considered a flowable grease. they will 'slump' .

regualr gun greas like #2 if you filled up a gear box.. it would extrude away from the gears onthe first revoloution and leave a cavity after that. the 0, 00 and 000 slump and keep getting pickefd up and distributed... unless a seal is hogged out and has visible space between it and the shaft..it will usually still hold the grease.. even the thin flowable stuff.

Lots of machines use 0/00 great. manu types of lawn and golf course equipmetn use it. I have a drop seeder that has a sealed gearbox that was 'lifetime' grease filled.. not even a provision to add lube ( untill I added a zerk.. )

 

[skylarkguy]

Thixotropic...great word...had to look it up

 

[greg_g]

Not if you use grade 0, 00, or 000. They are thixotropic. Might lube better on worn gears.

Let me clarify then. Grease is a poor substitute for good seals in PTO mower transmissions originally sold with gear oil inside

//greg//

 

[Soundguy]

Let me clarify then. Grease is a poor substitute for good seals in PTO mower transmissions originally sold with gear oil inside

//greg//

i don't think anyone debates that it is better to run oil in a box designed for oil. the grease is a bandaid fix.. and better than no lube.

the proper splint for a broke leg is something medical grade.

a stick and a belt are an AWESOME fix when you don't have the rigth stuff for whatever reason..

 

[sandman2234]

Good response Soundguy,
Just to add to it, during the middle of growing season, when every minute is already taken, tearing down a gearbox and ordering seals, or making a special trip to town to hopefully find them at your dealership can be averted for the rest of the season till a more optimum time to repair. Looking at it from that angle, the flowable grease is a BETTER SUBSTITUTE for the original oil, because when a seal goes bad, keeping oil in it is impossible, which makes the oil worthless.
David from jax

 

[Soundguy]

yep. some people don't look at the short game.. only the long game.

for some of us. short game has to conclude.. get mowed.. etc. and then for the long game. IE.. fix it right before it wears out.

 

[bindian]

My first tractor, a Ford 3055, came with a rusted out 6ft John Deere brush hog. It's gear box would not hold oil. The back side of the gearbox was just a plate held on with a snap ring. I tried to get a rebuild kit for it from John Deere, but was told that gear box was discontinued, along with any kits or parts. Then I was told that JD brush hog was made in France and to buy a replacement gearbox, I needed to buy a whole new hub assy. It was all costing more than then the mower was worth. Then the parts guy told me his bat wing had a leaking gearbox and he always put grease in it. I then put regular wheel bearing grease in it until the day I sold it. But I only had a few acres to mow at a time.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Sawyer Rob]

The bottom seal has been gone on my 6' cutter for years and years.... I've been putting half a tube of grease in it (as needed) ever since and it just keeps on keeping on!

If the box would hold gear oil, that's what I'd be putting in it!

SR

 

[mopar440cu]

Great thread! I think i will give it a shot and put "00" grease in my Deere MX-6 bushhog gearbox and see if it will not leak so bad. I picked up more acreage and really need it working. However; not to sure what the word "thixotropic" means? Lol Good Lord, I guess I will have to find the ole dictionary I have on that word, but a Country Boy can survive. LOL

 

[Fallon]

I just put some pourable grease & 90wt in the gearbox of my old Ford 917 flail as a seal started seeping. I paid $100 for the mower, new seals were going to be half what I paid for the mower.

Gearboxes on implements are not precision machines. As long as they have clean lube, they will run fine. Oil will lube a bit better, or at least get everywhere better, not to mention move easier (eat up less HP), but grease, especially pourable will get the job done just fine.

 

[RobS]

Wish I'd have known this a couple of years ago. Trashed a gearbox when the seal went bad during use. Never leaked up to that point and I had no way of knowing while mowing other than the crashing sound that resulted. I got a good deal on a used mower rather than a new gearbox and maybe I'll fill the replacement with grease now!

 

[Soundguy]

Try 0 first, it will stay in better than 00.

Pump it full till it extruded with 0

JD cornhead is 0

Comes in gg tubes

 

[kebo]

And a fair amount of fuel too!!

And a sore arse!

 

[pmsmechanic]

I had a 506 John Deere mower given to me. For years I could get away with just adding some oil when I used it. Eventually I had to use thixotropic grease so that there would still be some lubrication. After a while that would run out too. So one winter I took the gearbox apart for repairs. Good thing I did because cage on the bottom bearing was just about all gone. I installed new bearings, seals and blades. Now the gearbox stays full of 85w-90 oil. The point I'm making is that taking the gearbox apart to repair it saved me money in the long run.

 

[Turbys_1700]

My Brown 472 specifies cotton picker spindle grease. That is a 00 type grease. I bought a case of John Deere corn head grease. It is a 0 type grease. The only difference that I can gather between the two is that 0 is solid and then flows when heated and is available for grease gun cartridges. 00 is liquid and is available in quart and gallon containers.

 

[Soundguy]

yup.. viscosity thing..

 

[94BULLITT]

I had a 506 John Deere mower given to me. For years I could get away with just adding some oil when I used it. Eventually I had to use thixotropic grease so that there would still be some lubrication. After a while that would run out too. So one winter I took the gearbox apart for repairs. Good thing I did because cage on the bottom bearing was just about all gone. I installed new bearings, seals and blades. Now the gearbox stays full of 85w-90 oil. The point I'm making is that taking the gearbox apart to repair it saved me money in the long run.

I suspect a lot of rotary cutters leak because the bottom bearing is wore out.

 

[Soundguy]

Another big leak cause is the bottom seal is hogged out due to debri getting wrapped around the shaft.. like twine and fence wire.. heck, even weeds that wind up and then get forced into the seal face.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I do not understand why they don't come from the factory with cornhead grease. Would save a lot of gearboxes.